Gusto vs Homebase 2026: Payroll for an Hourly Team, Priced

Homebase is the cheaper payroll for an hourly team that also needs shift scheduling and a time clock. Its payroll add-on costs $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid, the same rate as Gusto Simple, but Homebase pairs it with scheduling that is free for one small site and $30 a location otherwise. Gusto bundles scheduling only from its Plus plan up, at $80 a month plus $12 per person. Prices read on both vendors' pricing pages, October 2026.

The tie on the payroll rate is the key fact in this matchup. Because the per-employee price is identical, the bill is decided by how each vendor sells the scheduling and time tracking around payroll, and that is where an hourly business either pays a flat location fee (Homebase) or a second per-person fee (Gusto). Gusto earns its higher price elsewhere: benefits administration, contractor payments abroad and HR support for teams that are growing past shift work.

Toolradar data: on Toolradar, the software directory we run, Homebase's entry paid plan ($30 a month, billed monthly) ranks joint #18 of 30 for price among payroll tools with a verified entry price, and Gusto's entry plan ranks joint #23 of 30, against a category median of $27 a month, as of October 2026 (Homebase on Toolradar, Gusto on Toolradar). The two products also have a side-by-side page on Toolradar.

At a glance

Prices from Gusto's pricing page and Homebase's pricing page, read October 21, 2026, plus Homebase's payroll page and tax management page.

How each vendor prices payroll

Gusto sells three payroll plans, each a base fee plus a per-person fee. Simple costs $49 a month plus $6 per person and runs payroll in one state with unlimited pay runs, tax filings and basic PTO policies. Plus costs $80 plus $12 per person and adds time tracking and scheduling, unlimited next-day pay, multi-state payroll and contractor invoice management. Premium costs $180 plus $22 per person and adds a named advisor, HR guidance, business compliance tools and unlimited same-day and instant pay. There are no contracts and account setup is free.

Homebase sells payroll as one add-on to any scheduling plan. The rate matches Gusto Simple's base and per-employee fee, drops to $29 a month flat for teams of up to 5, and it includes unlimited payroll runs, tax filing, W-2s and 1099s, direct deposit, tip pooling, next-day payroll and live support from 7am to 7pm Central. Homebase also says a dedicated payroll expert moves your data over for free.

The practical difference is what each entry price actually covers. Gusto Simple is payroll only, while Homebase's rate sits on top of a scheduling plan you choose separately, so the comparison only works once you price the whole stack. Our Gusto pricing and Homebase pricing pages break down every tier on each side.

Homebase is currently running a limited-time offer of 6 months of payroll and its Plus plan free when you add payroll, with terms on its site. The bills below ignore it, because a promotion ends and the list price is what you pay from month seven.

What an hourly team pays: three bills

For a 20-person restaurant, Homebase payroll with scheduling costs $199 a month against $289 on Gusto Simple with its time add-on, a gap of $1,080 a year. The table prices payroll plus scheduling and time tracking for a single-state business on monthly billing, at list prices before tax and promotions. Every total is our arithmetic on the published rates: the base fee, plus each per-person fee times headcount, plus any per-location fee.

On annual billing for the scheduling plan, Homebase's Essentials drops to $24 a location, which takes the 20-person bill to $193 and the three-site bill to $391. Gusto's pricing page shows monthly rates, so its columns stay as they are.

The gap grows with headcount because Gusto charges per person twice. On Simple, every hourly worker carries one fee for payroll and a second, equal fee for the time add-on; on Plus, the single per-person fee is twice the Simple rate. Homebase charges per person only for payroll, and its scheduling fee stays flat per location however many people work there. A restaurant that hires for summer pays Homebase more only on the payroll line.

The smallest team shows the widest relative gap. A five-person cafe on Homebase's free Basic plan plus the $29 small-team payroll pays roughly a quarter of what Gusto Simple with time tracking costs. The catch is that Basic offers only basic scheduling and basic time tracking, at one location, for up to 10 employees.

The hybrid: Homebase for shifts, Gusto for payroll

You do not have to pick one: you can schedule in Homebase and run payroll in Gusto. Homebase's Gusto integration syncs employees, hours, overtime, wage rates and PTO into Gusto, and each location is connected separately.

Because Gusto Simple and Homebase payroll charge the same rate, the hybrid costs about the same as going all-in on Homebase: for the 20-person restaurant, Essentials plus Gusto Simple is also $199 a month by our arithmetic. The choice then rests on which payroll you want, not on price. Homebase lists payroll integrations in its plan comparison, so confirm which tier your account needs for the Gusto sync before you commit.

The hybrid makes sense if you already run payroll on Gusto and rely on its benefits tools, or expect to need its higher tiers as you grow. It makes less sense if you want one login and one support line for both timesheets and paychecks, because every sync adds a place where hours can go missing.

Features hourly teams actually use

Homebase is built around the shift; Gusto is built around the paycheck. That shows up in the details that matter on a restaurant or retail floor.

Homebase's scheduling plans cover shift trading, open-shift claiming, location-based clock-in on the mobile time clock and real-time reminders, and Essentials adds advanced scheduling, advanced time tracking and team chat. Its payroll runs straight from timesheets with multiple wage rates, tip pools, break compliance, overtime and PTO, which removes the step of exporting timesheets into a separate payroll tool. Restaurants that pool tips can also add Tip Manager at $25 a location a month to import tips from the point-of-sale system.

Gusto's time tooling is real but sold differently. Plus includes time tracking and scheduling, and Time and Attendance Plus adds time tracking synced to payroll, project tracking, time off and scheduling to Simple. Faster pay is Gusto's strength for cash-sensitive owners: Premium includes same-day and instant pay, and on other plans same-day pay costs $90 a payroll and instant pay $100 a payroll.

Pick Homebase if your managers build a schedule every week; pick Gusto if your team is mostly salaried with a few hourly roles. A front-of-house team that rebuilds its rota every week benefits from scheduling and payroll living in one app. An office with two hourly receptionists does not need per-location shift tools at all.

Multi-state teams, benefits and support

Multi-state payroll is a tier decision on Gusto: Simple covers one state, and the higher tiers handle more. Homebase says its payroll handles work-state and home-state withholding for multi-state teams, with no separate state fee on its pricing page. For a business with locations on both sides of a state line, that keeps Homebase on its base rate. Our payroll tax rates for 2026 and minimum wage by state pages cover what changes when you cross that line.

Benefits are where Gusto pulls ahead. Gusto offers health insurance through its own licensed agency, lets an outside broker manage plans inside Gusto for a per-employee monthly fee, and sells Premium for teams that want HR guidance and compliance tools. Homebase lists integrations for 401(k), workers' compensation and health benefits instead of running them, which suits a business that has not started offering benefits yet.

Support also splits by price. Gusto includes basic support on Simple and Plus and sells Priority Support at $30 a month plus $3 per person, while Premium includes a named advisor. Homebase's payroll includes live human support every day from 7am to 7pm Central.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Homebase if most of your team is hourly, you schedule shifts weekly and you want payroll, scheduling and the time clock in one app. Restaurants, cafes, retail stores and salons fit this profile, and the flat location fee rewards busy single sites. Our Homebase review covers its limits, and Connecteam vs Homebase, Homebase vs Deputy and Homebase vs When I Work compare it with other shift tools.

Choose Gusto if you need benefits administration, plan to add salaried staff or contractors abroad, or want HR guidance as you grow. The Gusto review covers where it falls short, and Gusto vs OnPay and Gusto vs QuickBooks Payroll show how its pricing stacks up against other payroll-first tools.

Look wider if neither fits: our cheaper Gusto alternatives and best payroll software rankings cover the rest of the market, and how much payroll costs for a small business sets the price benchmarks.

How we compared them

Louis Corneloup, founder of Dupple and Toolradar, wrote this comparison for HRpresso readers. Plans, prices, add-ons and features come from Gusto's pricing page, Homebase's pricing page, the Homebase payroll page, the Homebase tax management page and the Homebase Gusto integration page, all read on October 21, 2026. The team bills are our own arithmetic from list prices and exclude taxes, benefits and promotions. Toolradar figures come from its live tool pages that month. HRpresso's publishing rules are on the about page.

FAQ

Is Gusto or Homebase cheaper for hourly workers?

Homebase, once you need scheduling and a time clock. For a 20-person single-site team on monthly billing, Homebase Essentials plus payroll costs $199 a month, against $289 for Gusto Simple with Time and Attendance Plus and $320 on Gusto Plus, by our arithmetic on October 2026 list prices.

How much does Homebase payroll cost?

Homebase payroll is an add-on to any plan at $49 a month plus $6 per employee paid, or $29 a month for teams of up to 5. A limited-time offer gives 6 months of payroll and the Plus plan free when you add payroll; terms apply.

Does Gusto include scheduling?

Only on higher tiers. Gusto Plus, at $80 a month plus $12 per person, includes time tracking and scheduling. On Simple you add Time and Attendance Plus, which is free to try and then billed per person each month at the same rate as Simple's payroll fee.

Can you use Homebase with Gusto payroll?

Yes. Homebase's Gusto integration syncs employees, hours, overtime, wage rates and PTO into Gusto, with each location connected separately. Because Gusto Simple and Homebase payroll share the same per-employee rate, the combination costs about the same as running everything on Homebase.

Which is better for a restaurant, Gusto or Homebase?

Homebase for most restaurants. Its payroll runs from timesheets with tip pooling, break compliance and overtime built in, and the scheduling fee is per location with unlimited employees. Gusto is the better fit if the restaurant group wants benefits administration or HR guidance from Premium.

Does Gusto handle multi-state payroll?

On Plus and Premium. Gusto Simple runs payroll in one state, so a business with workers in a second state moves to Plus at $80 a month plus $12 per person. Homebase says its payroll handles work-state and home-state withholding for multi-state teams at its standard rate.

Cite this: HRpresso, "Gusto vs Homebase 2026: Payroll for an Hourly Team, Priced", November 2026.

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